7-24-2024 5:23am

"I AM: Proud"--Arlen Saylor's Musical Legacy Remains

Lesley Misko Editor

Photograph taken January 15, 1963, featuring the Boyertown Area High School Band at Governor Scranton's Inaugural Parade, Harrisburg, PA

Ed.: Today's vignette from Margaret Harner's book One Day at a Time: A Social History of Boyertown, Pennsylvania, features one of Boyertown's heroes: Arlen Saylor. This musical giant in Boyertown's history touched many lives--students and adults alike--throughout his life and through his accomplishments in Boyertown and beyond. His legacy remains strong in the solid reputation he brought to the school district's music program that continues within the schools and in the community as some of the students he once taught and inspired continue to march in local parades and delight audiences at annual alumni concerts. Margaret's vignette marking the day he passed serves as a "top story" today.

By Margaret Leidy Harner from her book One Day at a Time: A Social History of Boyertown, PA.

July 24, 2015: A great American and true Boyertown hero is now leading parades in Heaven. Internationally famed band director Arlen Saylor, who was the music coordinator and director of the Boyertown Senior High School marching unit for 30 years, has passed.

In his astonishing career, his band won many national honors. It was selected to represent Pennsylvania in the 45th annual Saint Petersburg, Florida Festival of States, where it scored an impressive win. To honor Boyertown’s performance, Pennsylvania Governor William Scranton designated April 13, 1966, as the Boyertown Area High School. Band Day.

Saylor was the founder of the annual Boyertown tradition, the Cavalcade of Bands in 1959 to showcase the half-time marching unit shows during football games and was elected to the Cavalcade Hall of Fame in 2007.

He created the Boyertown Alumni Band and the Boyertown Area Music League and served as the Entertainment Director for the Philadelphia Eagles NFL Football Club from 1972-2001, which involved planning and directing home game activities, both pre-game and halftime.

He founded the Sound of Brass, a 220-piece unit that performed at all Eagles home games, and the Arlen Saylor Orchestra, his own Big Band.

Saylor began his career as the cornet soloist with the Pottstown Band at age 9 and was the cornet soloist and special feature arranger with the United States Army Band from 1951 to 1954.

Find an earlier vignette from Margaret's book and more about the photograph that heads this article in the April 13th edition of The Boyertown Area Expression: https://boyertownareaexpression.town.news/g/boyertown-pa/n/247519/april…